Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • Australia has dropped Jake Weatherald for second Test match against Bangladesh

    Australia has dropped Jake Weatherald for second Test match against Bangladesh

    Ahead of the second men’s Test match against Bangladesh in Mackay, Australia’s national cricket selectors have made a single adjustment to their 13-man squad, dropping underperforming opening batter Jake Weatherald and recalling veteran left-hander Matt Renshaw to take his place. The like-for-like swap means star middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne, who has also struggled for consistent run-scoring in recent outings, has retained his place in the side, escaping selection cuts.

    Weatherald had earned a consistent spot in Australia’s Test lineup starting from the 2023 Ashes series against England, featuring in six consecutive Test matches. However, his overall performance during that stretch failed to meet selection standards, managing only one half-century across 11 innings and posting a modest batting average of just 20.36. His form deteriorated further in Australia’s surprising first-Test defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin last week, where he scored 23 runs in the first innings before recording a third-ball duck in the second.

    While Weatherald proved a reliable opening partner for star opener Travis Head during the Ashes campaign, he failed to convert starts into substantial scores in every innings following that series, ultimately exhausting his goodwill with selectors. In his place, 30-year-old Renshaw gets a long-awaited recall to the Test side, more than a year and a half out from his last international appearance.

    Renshaw first broke into Australia’s Test setup a decade ago as a gritty, defensive opening batter, and over the course of his domestic career he has evolved into a dynamic, adaptable batter capable of contributing in all three formats of international cricket. He last featured for Australia in a Test match during the 2023 tour of India, where he stepped into the middle order late in a match after regular opener David Warner was ruled out due to concussion. Ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, Renshaw turned in impressive performances in team training camp, earning him the recall over other domestic contenders.

    Australian head coach Andrew McDonald spoke openly following the first Test defeat about the pressure on Labuschagne to turn his form around, confirming the decision to retain him in the squad. McDonald noted that the batter had been working on adjustments to his batting technique, and those changes held up even under intense match pressure during the Darwin Test – a positive sign for his future output. “You can try to make these changes, and then when you get put under extreme pressure in the middle, sometimes those changes don’t hold,” McDonald explained. “So it was good to see them hold up, but it is 31, he’s disappointed at that missed opportunity. He needs some big runs.”

    The first Test defeat to Bangladesh kicks off a demanding 12-month stretch for Australia’s men’s Test side, which is scheduled to play a total of 21 Test matches across various home and away series in the coming year.

  • Ralph Carr: Defence barrister claims guilty rape verdict ‘obvious’ miscarriage of justice

    Ralph Carr: Defence barrister claims guilty rape verdict ‘obvious’ miscarriage of justice

    High-profile Australian sports and entertainment agent Ralph Carr, 66, whose full legal name is Ralph Carnovale-Carra, is currently fighting his recent rape conviction, with his legal team arguing before the court that the jury’s guilty verdict represents a clear miscarriage of justice.

    Last month, a jury at Victoria’s County Court found Carr guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against a woman in her 20s. The trial heard that the pair, who had known each other previously, met in early 2023 to discuss potential job openings at Carr’s company, Ralph Carr Management. After a night of drinking and cocaine use, the alleged assault took place at Carr’s home.

    This week, Carr returned to court as his defence team launched a formal application to stay his sentencing proceedings until his appeal against the conviction is finalized. Defence barrister Dermot Dann KC, who has 35 years of experience working as a trial lawyer, told the court this marked the first time he had ever applied for a sentence stay in a rape case. Calling the conviction the clearest miscarriage of justice he had encountered in his decades-long career, Dann emphasized that the legal team made no apologies for launching the appeal or the stay application. “We have a man who maintains his innocence… a man who is going through hell in prison,” Dann told the court, adding that anyone who reviewed the victim’s testimony would be deeply concerned and uncomfortable with the guilty verdicts.

    Dann outlined multiple trial irregularities he argues leave the jury’s verdict unsafe and open to overturn by the Court of Appeal. Key among his criticisms are what he calls significant inconsistencies across the victim’s multiple accounts of the incident. These include conflicting descriptions of the body positions during the assaults, the duration of the rapes, and what Dann labels “recent inventions” – additional allegations that Carr masturbated in front of the victim and apologized after the attack, claims that did not appear in earlier testimony. He also noted unaddressed discrepancies between the victim’s evidence and testimony from other witnesses, as well as gaps in the prosecution’s handling of objective evidence in the case.

    Another key piece of exculpatory evidence Dann highlighted is a text message Carr sent to the victim the day after the alleged incident. In the message, Carr asks the victim “what happened” and notes that police had contacted him to respond to a disturbance report at his West Melbourne residence. Dann stressed that prosecutors have not attempted to frame the message as incriminating conduct, leaving it as clear evidence of Carr’s lack of awareness of any criminal act.

    The defence also brought forward evidence from Carr’s psychiatrist, Jacqueline Rakov, who testified that the 66-year-old’s mental health has deteriorated severely during his three weeks in custody, with Carr describing his experience as “living in hell.”

    Dann argued that there is a reasonable prospect the Court of Appeal will rule the guilty verdict cannot stand, making this exactly the case where the court’s power to stay sentencing should be exercised.

    Prosecutors pushed back against the application, with Crown prosecutor Matthew Fisher telling the court the prosecution side is deeply concerned by Dann’s arguments. Fisher suggested that Dann’s strong public statements may be an attempt to garner media attention rather than present a substantive legal argument. Presiding Judge Frank Gucciardo also pushed back on Dann’s remarks, noting that the barrister’s strong personal opinion may be overstating the defence’s position and questioned whether such commentary was appropriate in court.

    The appeal hearing is ongoing, with no ruling on the stay application delivered as of yet.

  • ‘Very concerned’: Australia breaks with Donald Trump on North Korea

    ‘Very concerned’: Australia breaks with Donald Trump on North Korea

    In a stark public divergence from former U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy shift, Australia has publicly broken ranks over the decision to scale back joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, a move Trump justified by pointing to his self-described “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

    Trump announced the U.S. defence adjustment in an overnight social media post, arguing that the long-running drills impose significant financial costs disproportionately borne by Washington and that they send an unnecessarily hostile diplomatic signal to Pyongyang. Beyond the North Korea policy shift, the former U.S. leader also criticized South Korea for failing to align with American efforts to push for denuclearization in Iran.

    While Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles emphasized that Washington’s policy choices are a sovereign matter for the United States to decide, he made clear that Canberra holds a sharply different perspective on the threat posed by North Korea’s weapons programs. Speaking at a joint press conference alongside visiting Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro in Canberra, Marles reaffirmed that Australia remains “very concerned” about both North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. He noted that Pyongyang continues to conduct frequent missile tests, a point underscored by his visit to Tokyo shortly after a major North Korean weapons test in 2024, and described North Korea as a major source of regional strategic instability. Marles also emphasized South Korea’s critical role in regional security, highlighting its shared strategic alignment with Australia and Japan through their trilateral defence cooperation framework.

    The press conference marked a key milestone in rapidly expanding Australia-Japan defence and security cooperation, with Shinjiro announcing plans for Japanese forces to test hypersonic missiles at Australian Defence Force firing ranges. Shinjiro framed the joint testing initiative as a transformative development for the bilateral defence relationship, ranking it second only to Japan’s long-standing defence partnership with the United States. He added that Tokyo is eager to accelerate negotiations to finalize the testing arrangement, a move Marles said Canberra welcomes with enthusiasm.

    Leaders also highlighted the success of an existing joint defence technology project: the Boobook high-energy laser program, developed through collaboration between Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Based in South Australia, the Boobook system is designed to intercept and destroy fast-moving enemy drones at a far lower cost than using traditional air-defence missiles, filling a critical capability gap for modern military forces. Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the project demonstrates the value of the deepening industrial defence partnership between the two countries, creating practical cutting-edge capabilities for the Australian Defence Force while opening new economic and strategic opportunities for both nations.

    During his remarks, Shinjiro described Australia as a “quasi-ally” — a close security partner bound by shared strategic goals, but without a formal mutual defence treaty requiring automatic intervention in the event of an attack. He stressed that deepening bilateral defence collaboration is critical to upholding peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region, a priority that both nations have committed to advancing together. This commitment aligns with a pledge made earlier in May by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to expand bilateral defence and security cooperation.

    Despite the rapid warming of defence ties, significant constitutional constraints limit how far Japan can expand its security commitments. Under current Japanese law, the country’s Self-Defence Force can only be activated in response to a clear and present danger to Japanese territory, with limited authority to support allied forces outside of that narrow framework. While Takaichi has shown incremental flexibility by approving limited intelligence deployments to the Middle East, Bryce Wakefield, chief executive of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, cautioned against overstating the pace of constitutional change. He noted that even when pressed by Trump on security cooperation in the Strait of Hormuz, Takaichi explicitly referenced Japan’s existing legal and constitutional limits on military action, indicating that long-standing constraints on Japanese security policy remain firmly in place.

  • Sydney Swans coach ‘extremely disappointed’ as players linked to sexual assault probe

    Sydney Swans coach ‘extremely disappointed’ as players linked to sexual assault probe

    One of the Australian Football League’s (AFL) top-performing teams, the Sydney Swans, is facing a major off-field crisis after multiple of its players were tied to an ongoing sexual assault investigation, team officials confirmed this week.

    The troubling allegations stem from an incident alleged to have unfolded in the hours following the Swans’ victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this past Sunday. Club leadership has only acknowledged that an “alleged incident” involving an undisclosed number of players occurred, declining to share further specifics about the event or those involved.

    In a parallel confirmation of the probe, Victoria Police announced that detectives are examining a reported sexual assault that took place at an East Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning. A police spokesperson noted that officers have already held preliminary conversations with multiple people present at the hotel at the time of the alleged incident, but no arrests have been made and no suspects have undergone formal questioning as of Tuesday.

    Speaking to reporters outside the Sydney Swans’ headquarters on Tuesday, head coach Dean Cox opened up about the club’s reaction to the news, saying he was “extremely disappointed” by the allegations that have linked his players to the investigation. Cox added that club leadership is collaborating closely with the AFL and other relevant stakeholders to sort through the details of the case, and that additional public updates will be released as more information becomes available throughout the coming days.

    Club chief executive Matthew Pavlich shared a similar sentiment on Monday, telling reporters that the organization is still working to reconstruct a clear timeline of exactly what occurred, and would not comment on the specific details of the allegations while the police probe is ongoing. “Safe to say, we’re extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place, and that the players have found themselves in this situation,” Pavlich said. “There’s going to be lots of speculation, but given it’s a police matter right now, that is all we can say.”

    The off-field scandal comes at a critical moment for the Swans, who are currently sitting second on the 2026 AFL ladder after notching 17 wins across their 22 matches played so far this season. The team is set to face North Melbourne this coming Sunday in their final regular-season match before the AFL finals kick off, where the league’s top six finishing teams will secure automatic advancement to the post-season tournament.

  • Whales spark joy in New York but face threats from boat traffic

    Whales spark joy in New York but face threats from boat traffic

    The cry of “whale at one o’clock!” has become a familiar, electrifying sound for cruise passengers exploring New York’s southern shorelines. When a humpback whale breaches the Atlantic surface against the backdrop of Manhattan’s world-famous skyline, crowds rush to the starboard bow, scrambling to catch a glimpse of one of the ocean’s most magnificent creatures. What was once a once-in-a-lifetime rarity is now a regular occurrence in the city’s coastal waters, bringing unbridled joy to wildlife enthusiasts while forcing policymakers and marine experts to confront a growing threat: heavy boat traffic in one of the United States’ busiest port regions.

    Decades ago, commercial hunting pushed humpback whale populations to the brink of extinction, and their remarkable recovery today stands as one of the global conservation movement’s most celebrated success stories. A growing population, dominated by young juvenile humpbacks, is now thriving off New York’s coast, where abundant food sources have transformed the area from a temporary migratory stopover into a permanent home.

    “People travel across the globe for African safaris, but what most don’t know is that a world-class marine safari is right on our doorstep,” explained Carl LoBue, New York oceans director for The Nature Conservancy. Raised on nearby Long Island, LoBue recalled that whale sightings off the state’s coast were once almost unheard of. Now, he spots marine mammals on virtually every trip out on the water. While humpbacks are the most common visitors, the region also hosts rare sightings of the critically endangered North Atlantic Right whale. For LoBue, this new normal is nothing short of spectacular: “I never dreamed I would see whales this abundant right off New York’s coast.”

    Several interconnected factors have driven this population shift, turning the New York Bight—the vast marine region stretching from New York City and Long Island to New Jersey—from a migratory highway into a permanent feeding ground. First, decades of federal protections including the U.S. Endangered Species Act allowed humpback populations to rebound, while stricter air and water quality regulations cleaned up coastal habitats that were once uninhabitable for large marine life. Second, new fishing regulations have supported the recovery of Atlantic menhaden, an oily small fish that serves as a primary food source for whales, dolphins, and seabirds, in addition to being harvested for commercial bait and dietary supplements. An adult humpback, which can grow to the size of a full-size city bus, consumes up to 3,000 pounds of fish every day, making abundant menhaden populations critical to supporting the growing whale community.

    Climate change has also accelerated this shift, according to Chris St. Lawrence, a naturalist who leads whale watching tours and works for Gotham Whale, a non-profit marine research organization that monitors whale populations in the New York Bight. Warming ocean temperatures have shifted the distribution of bait fish, pushing whales to abandon traditional migratory routes in search of reliable food sources closer to New York’s coast.

    When Gotham Whale launched its formal tracking program in 2012, the organization’s catalog included just five individual humpbacks. Today, St. Lawrence reports the group documents 80 to 100 unique whales every year, and recently identified its 500th distinct individual whale spotted around New York City since monitoring began. Some whales have even become minor celebrities among local whale watchers: NYC0318, a humpback spotted by AFP during a recent outing, regularly delights crowds with dramatic displays of lunge-feeding and full breaching that leave spectators screaming with delight.

    Gotham Whale identifies individual whales by their unique fluke prints—distinctive pigment patterns on the underside of their tails that are as unique as human fingerprints, St. Lawrence explained. But many whales are also recognizable by the scars they carry, most often from collisions with vessels ranging from massive tankers and cargo ships to smaller recreational fishing and leisure boats.

    For all the abundance of food New York’s coast offers, the region’s extremely heavy maritime traffic creates serious new risks for the growing whale population. While humpbacks in the New York area were removed from the endangered species list in 2016, just one year later the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared an Unusual Mortality Event for humpbacks along the entire Atlantic coast. This designation, granted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, is triggered when unexpected mass die-offs occur, and it initiates formal investigation and response. The Unusual Mortality Event for humpbacks remains in effect today.

    Global marine advocacy groups and government researchers confirm that vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglement are the two leading causes of preventable whale deaths worldwide. To address this growing risk in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed the Whale Awareness Act into law. The new legislation requires that marine mammal protection and education be integrated into mandatory state boater safety courses and vessel registration processes.

    LoBue has helped develop new educational resources for the policy, including an online course that teaches boaters of all kinds how to recognize whale behavior, report sightings to regulators, and adjust navigation to avoid collisions. He notes that even experienced commercial fishermen never learned how to operate boats around whales, because the animals were not present in the region for generations. “We all have to learn new skills to adapt to this change,” LoBue said. “And at the end of the day, nobody wants to hit a whale.”

  • AFL 2026: Melbourne will way up parachuting Jack Viney in for Western Bulldogs clash

    AFL 2026: Melbourne will way up parachuting Jack Viney in for Western Bulldogs clash

    Ahead of this Saturday’s high-stakes AFL clash against the Western Bulldogs, the Melbourne Demons are grappling with a tough selection call: whether to bring star vice-captain Jack Viney straight back into the senior side after his long-awaited return to match play.

    Viney, a hard-tackling midfielder who has been sidelined for the entire season to date by a frustrating string of Achilles and back injuries, stepped out for his first competitive match of 2024 last weekend with Melbourne’s Victorian Football League (VFL) affiliate Casey Demons. The comeback outing went off without a hitch: Viney notched 20 disposals, 10 clearances, and a goal, proving his fitness after months of rehabilitation work.

    Interim Demons coach Steven King confirmed that the coaching staff is feeling the pull to fast-track Viney’s return for this weekend’s critical fixture, but he stressed that the club’s first priority is ensuring the veteran is fully prepared to handle the intensity of senior AFL football.

    “First and foremost, it’s just great to see him back out on the park after everything he’s been through this year,” King told reporters. “We’ve got a lot of factors to weigh up here, starting with how he pulled up from the VFL match, and then team balance, too. Let’s be honest, we’ve hit good form lately, winning six of our last seven outings, so we don’t want to disrupt the chemistry we’ve built.”

    King added that the selection call balances the needs of the team and the long-term interests of Viney himself, noting that having the vice-captain available for selection is ultimately a huge boost for the club. “When you get a player of Jack’s caliber available, it’s only a good thing. I just want to make the right call for the team, the club, and most of all for Jack. We need to be sure he’s really ready to come back in. Is that this week? We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

    The outcome of Saturday’s match will have a major impact on Melbourne’s final ladder position heading into the AFL finals series. A win could see the Demons climb as high as fourth spot on the ladder, securing a valuable double chance, while a loss could drop them as low as the wildcard round, forcing them into an immediate knockout fixture.

    One big advantage Melbourne holds heading into the clash is in the ruck division: star ruckman Max Gawn will take on a Bulldogs side missing key big man Tim English. King seized the opportunity to sing Gawn’s praises, as the 34-year-old pushes for a historic ninth selection to the All Australian team, and his first as captain of the side.

    “It’s amazing what Max has done for our club and what he’s achieved across his whole career,” King said. “If he gets the nod as a nine-time All Australian and All Australian captain, it’s incredibly well-deserved. He’s been our club captain for years now, and he’s already broken the club record for most wins as captain. To be doing what he’s doing at 34, carrying our team to where we are on the ladder right now, is extraordinary. I’m biased, of course, but I can’t think of anyone more worthy of the honor. It’s a privilege to coach him.”

  • Premier League’s new bosses brace for battle

    Premier League’s new bosses brace for battle

    As the new English Premier League season prepares to kick off this Friday, the top flight is facing an unprecedented wave of managerial turnover not seen in nearly 80 years, with nine clubs set to start the campaign with a new head coach. No Premier League manager faces higher stakes or closer public scrutiny than Enzo Maresca at Manchester City, Andoni Iraola at Liverpool, and Xabi Alonso at Chelsea — three rookie bosses at the league’s most iconic clubs stepping into roles defined by legendary predecessors.

    The scale of this offseason’s change is staggering: even Michael Carrick, who only took the Manchester United job in January, already ranks as the 10th longest-serving manager in the division. The last time the top flight saw this much managerial churn ahead of a new campaign was the 1946/47 season, the first full campaign played after the end of World War II.

    For Enzo Maresca, his appointment at Manchester City represents a full-circle homecoming, and one of the most daunting jobs in world football. The 46-year-old Italian already has two previous stints at the Etihad Stadium: he served as lead coach of the club’s elite development squad in 2020/21, then as an assistant coach during City’s historic 2022/23 treble-winning campaign. After leaving City, he guided Leicester City to an immediate promotion back to the Premier League from the Championship, then spent 18 turbulent months at Chelsea, where he delivered the club’s first UEFA Conference League title and Club World Cup trophy before moving back to Manchester.

    City’s hierarchy has long viewed Maresca as the ideal heir to Pep Guardiola, who departed after a glorious decade that brought 20 major trophies to the club. Maresca has described stepping into Guardiola’s role as both a “privilege” and the challenge of a lifetime, but an early warning sign emerged in the recent Community Shield, where City fell to a underwhelming 3-0 defeat to reigning league champions Arsenal. Maresca now faces an uphill battle to end Arsenal’s title defense and deliver City’s first league crown since 2024.

    At Anfield, 44-year-old Spaniard Andoni Iraola is tasked with reviving Liverpool’s fortunes after a disastrous title defense campaign under Arne Slot. The Dutch manager was sacked just 12 months after delivering Liverpool’s 20th English league title, matching the club’s historic record, after a catastrophic second half of the season sent the team plummeting down the table.

    Iraola was hired for his sharp tactical approach, with club officials hoping he can restore the aggressive, high-intensity “heavy metal” football that made Jurgen Klopp — Slot’s predecessor — a fan favorite at Anfield. The Spaniard earned Liverpool’s attention through three increasingly successful seasons at Bournemouth, where he improved the club’s league finish in every campaign, culminating in a sixth-place finish last term that secured the south coast club’s first ever qualification for European competition. In his opening press conference as Liverpool boss, Iraola spoke of the unique “magic” of the role and said he aimed to “earn the right to be one of you” for supporters, but he is under no illusions that the pressure of this role will far exceed any challenge he has faced in his career to date.

    For Xabi Alonso, the 44-year-old Spaniard and former Liverpool Champions League winner, his next managerial chapter takes him not to Anfield (a job he was repeatedly linked to over the offseason) but to Stamford Bridge, to take charge of Chelsea. Alonso made his name as a rising managerial star at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, where he masterminded an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double during the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign. That historic success earned him the top job at his former club Real Madrid, but his tenure at the Bernabeu quickly collapsed, and he departed in January after less than eight months in charge.

    Alonso has admitted that his early exit from Real Madrid left a “scar” on his career, but says the wound has healed as he turns his focus to restoring stability at Chelsea. The Blues went through a chaotic 2024/25 campaign, beginning with Maresca in charge before a short, underwhelming spell under Liam Rosenior, and ended the season in a disappointing 10th place in the league. Chelsea has already invested heavily in the transfer window this offseason, breaking the record for the most expensive British player ever to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.

    The fact that Chelsea will not compete in any European competition this season could give Alonso valuable time to reshape the squad around his own tactical philosophy, without the intensity of a packed midweek fixture schedule. However, the reduced fixture list also creates new tensions, as it makes it far harder to keep a bloated senior squad satisfied amid limited game time — a major challenge as Alonso works to bring much-needed calm to a club that has been in constant flux for years.

  • Veterans Minister admits he ‘got it wrong’ after veterans snubbed

    Veterans Minister admits he ‘got it wrong’ after veterans snubbed

    A political firestorm has erupted in Australian politics after Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh publicly acknowledged he made a critical error when he initially turned down a meeting with a group of veteran advocates pushing for the scrapping of a controversial new annual $5,000 cap on allied health services for former service members. The Coalition of Veterans’ Voices, which travelled to Canberra to press their case, had requested a meeting with both Keogh and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and last week, Keogh’s office informed the group the minister had no availability to meet with them on the scheduled Monday. Following public backlash, Keogh reversed his decision and held a closed-door discussion with the delegation later the same day. On Tuesday, the minister took responsibility for the misstep in a public statement. “I got it wrong in not agreeing to meet with them last week when that initial request came in,” Keogh told reporters. “I own that, and I met with them and I heard their concerns last night.” Keogh also pushed back against accusations from the group that he had displayed disrespect during parliamentary question time the previous day, where he avoided acknowledging their presence in the public gallery and did not greet them with handshakes ahead of the meeting. Looking directly toward the veterans’ seating area in the gallery, Keogh thanked the group for their willingness to sit down with him. “When he came into that room and I met with them and I was sitting down, I said ‘relax and I want to hear what you have to tell,” Keogh said, denying claims he acted with dismissiveness. “I shook hands with those people who attended that meeting as we finished that.” Keogh added that he valued the input the delegates shared, drawing on their unique lived experiences as both veterans and people navigating the veteran health system. “I am grateful for the information that they imparted to me, given the diverse range of experience that they had, both medically and as veterans,” he said. “I, of course, take all of that feedback on-board as we will take on the feedback as part of our consultation process.” The minister emphasized that the Albanese government’s core goal remains eliminating gaps in veteran care coverage. “I said to them (the group) last night, and I’ve said with every veteran group that I’ve met with after this announcement, it has always been the government’s intention to make sure there is no gap in services,” he explained. Keogh also pushed back against widespread criticism of the cap, which is set to take effect in July 2027, noting that only a small share of veterans would hit the annual spending limit, and that a government discussion paper outlining the policy would be released shortly. The government has framed the cap as a measure to reduce unnecessary spending on non-essential services. The policy itself has drawn fierce condemnation from the opposition, with senior conservative politicians joining the delegation in Canberra this week to amplify their demands. Nationals leader Matt Canavan ripped into Keogh’s initial refusal to meet, describing his conduct as a display of unearned arrogance rather than the respect veterans are owed. Canavan called on Prime Minister Albanese to step in and meet with the delegation directly. “Respect should be shown to our nation’s veterans,” Canavan said, speaking alongside members of the group. “Given the inadequacy of what you’ve heard from our veterans and their lack of trust and competency in the Veterans Affairs Minister, I think the least the Prime Minister could do is meet with them.” Nationals Senator Susan McDonald described the cap as a cruel policy that was never recommended by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans’ Suicide, and said the prime minister should apologize for advancing the measure. “This is a tidal wave of outrage because these people did not vote for a government to be cruel to the people we rely on,” McDonald said. Former Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack joined the criticism, labeling the cap insidious, unnecessary, and harmful, and echoed calls for Albanese to scrap the policy and meet with the delegates on the spot. “He could do that today on Long Tan Day, on Vietnam Veterans Day, and it would be wholly appropriate,” McCormack said. “So, it’s up to the Prime Minister to do the right thing, not just for these veterans, not just to all veterans, but to our nation, because our nation deserves it. These veterans deserve nothing less.” The delegation has confirmed that they have not yet submitted a formal written request for a meeting with Albanese, but Canavan said that the demand is now public, and the group is ready to arrange a meeting at the prime minister’s convenience. “Well, he’s going to hear it now,” Canavan said when asked if the prime minister was aware of the request. “So, he can respond. He can get on to me, anyone else, and we’ll arrange it.” Keogh defended the government’s broader record on veteran health care, noting that the administration has nearly trialled a $170 million investment to raise reimbursement rates for allied health providers, the largest such increase in two decades. He argued that this change will actually expand access to care by addressing longstanding complaints from providers that low fee rates were leading many to stop accepting veteran patients altogether. “We have been hearing for a very long time that providers have been cutting back on providing these services or threatening to cut back on these services because of the fees paid to them, and so we have committed nearly $170m to make the biggest increase in fees being paid to allied health service providers in 20 years,” Keogh said. Delegation members have pushed back on Keogh’s account, describing his initial response as dismissive and brusque, with one member noting that the eventual handshake after their meeting was only extended as a matter of basic courtesy.

  • Australian households ‘deeply pessimistic’ despite confidence boost from RBA rate hold

    Australian households ‘deeply pessimistic’ despite confidence boost from RBA rate hold

    Australia’s household economic sentiment has posted a minor uptick following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to hold official interest rates steady, yet broad-based pessimism about personal financial circumstances and the nation’s long-term economic trajectory remains deeply entrenched among Australian consumers.

    The latest monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index, one of the country’s most closely watched measures of household economic mood, recorded a 6% gain in August to reach 88.9. While this rise marks the first improvement in sentiment in months, the reading still sits well below the 100 threshold that divides prevailing pessimism from optimism, confirming that negative outlooks continue to dominate public opinion.

    Westpac’s chief economist Luci Ellis noted that cost-of-living pressures continue to squeeze household budgets across the country, even after the small improvement in mood. “This is still a weak result and noticeably lower than the readings recorded last year,” Ellis explained. “While consumers are feeling less pessimistic than last month, pessimists still outnumber optimists, especially about their current finances.”

    Survey data shows the shift in sentiment happened almost immediately after the RBA’s monetary policy board announced it would keep the official cash rate unchanged at 4.35% on August 6. Responses collected before the announcement showed no change from July’s weak reading, with the entire monthly gain coming from surveys completed after the decision was made public.

    The RBA’s announcement came with a hawkish undertone, however: Governor Michele Bullock confirmed that board members had discussed a potential rate hike during the meeting – a step the board did not take during its May 2024 gathering. Bullock also warned that additional rate increases remain on the table as the central bank works to prevent currently elevated inflation, which sits at 3.8%, from becoming permanently embedded in the Australian economy.

    Markets and economists broadly expect the RBA will hold rates steady again when the board next convenes for its September 28-29 policy meeting. A softer-than-expected labour market and only one new monthly inflation reading due before the gathering have reinforced expectations that policymakers will leave policy unchanged for another month. Ellis noted that the RBA already has lifted rates three times in 2024 to bring the cash rate to a restrictive level, giving policymakers room to pause and assess how previous tightening has impacted economic activity across the country.

    “Having already raised the cash rate three times this year to a restrictive level, the monetary policy board has scope to keep the cash rate on hold while it monitors the effect of policy tightening across the economy and confirms whether underlying inflation has peaked,” Ellis said.

    Most of the confidence gains were concentrated in assessments of current economic conditions, with attitudes toward long-term economic prospects remaining firmly negative. The report also revealed uneven sentiment shifts across demographic groups: sentiment among renters rose in the days after the RBA meeting, but weak readings from before the announcement left overall renter sentiment slightly lower for the month as a whole.

    Two key sub-indexes posted notable improvements in August: the gauge of attitudes toward major household purchases rose 8.1% from 86.8 in July to 93.8 this month, while the index measuring year-over-year changes in household financial pressure improved 12.6% to 80.0. Even with these gains, however, both measures remain in pessimistic territory, underscoring that Australian households are still feeling significant economic strain.

  • Boehly and Walter consider selling Chelsea stake to Clearlake Capital

    Boehly and Walter consider selling Chelsea stake to Clearlake Capital

    Fresh ownership turbulence has emerged at English Premier League giant Chelsea, with senior club figures Todd Boehly and Mark Walter confirming they are exploring the sale of their combined minority stake to majority owner Clearlake Capital, multiple industry sources reported Monday.

    The discussions mark the latest chapter in a tense two-year relationship between the co-investors that purchased the west London club from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in a £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) deal in May 2022. At the time of the acquisition, California-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital took a controlling 62% stake in the club, while Boehly — who serves as Chelsea’s chairman — fellow American billionaire Walter, and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss held the remaining 38% through their joint holding vehicle Blueco Holdings.

    According to insiders familiar with the negotiations, Boehly has grown increasingly frustrated with the club’s strategic direction in recent months. His dissatisfaction centers on three key areas: transfer market recruitment strategy, managerial decision-making, and long-term plans for a proposed new stadium to replace the club’s iconic 118-year-old Stamford Bridge home.

    This is not the first time tensions between the ownership factions have spilled into public view. Reports have circulated multiple times over the past 24 months that both sides have attempted to buy out the other’s stake, as disagreements over the club’s trajectory persisted.

    If the transaction moves forward, Boehly and Walter have valued their combined holding at a total club valuation of £5 billion, nearly double the price the group paid just two years ago. The pair have a long-standing professional and personal relationship, having collaborated on major sports investments including Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the Women’s National Basketball Association’s LA Sparks.

    The ownership shakeup comes as Chelsea enters a critical new season. The club turned in a dismal performance in 2023-24, finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on qualification for all European competitions. In response, the club appointed former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso as its new manager, tasked with turning around the side’s on-pitch fortunes. Chelsea is set to kick off its 2025-26 Premier League campaign with an away fixture against west London rivals Fulham on August 24.